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Roku at the Bat

The streaming device slash platform, now in more than 80 million homes, makes its maiden voyage into Major League Baseball.

mlb new york yankees
Much of the focus of this MLB deal is on rights—the fact that Roku will carry the games exclusively on The Roku Channel. Photo: Elsa/Getty Images
John Ourand
May 14, 2024

Rather fittingly, Roku Media president Charlie Collier ended his NewFronts presentation a couple of weeks ago by introducing Dan Lovinger, NBC’s president of Olympic and Paralympic sales. Lovinger yammered onstage about how Roku created awareness for Peacock’s exclusive NFL wild card playoff game, and his excitement about their partnership at both this year’s Summer Olympics, in Paris, and the 2026 Winter Games in Milan. It was all part of a broader theme coalescing around the company: Roku, which is in 82 million homes, is becoming a bona fide low-key player in sports. This afternoon, the company announced perhaps its most significant sports deal so far: It’s agreed to carry Major League Baseball’s package of Sunday morning games.